Backroads

With great power comes great responsibility.

I was part of a very slight number of females to participate in a Camp Bartlett staff secret ritual dominated by males.

NOT COSTCO!!!! All those aisles to run up and down....

Go you!

I will dip pretty much anything in pop. I'm an almost anti-social, anti-party bookworm nerd.

I think you will always have problems gaining exactly what you want to know. An ex-Mormon is probably very knowledgeable, and a happily active Mormon can be just as knowledgeble. To be fair, I think you can't say all ex-Mormons are going to give you false doctrine and all Mormons will sugarcoat everything. But if someone is bitter against the Church, they are going to be more likely to present the bad stuff. Then again, a Mormon zealot won't tell you much of anything. Sad, but that's how human nature is. Few people can leave something peacefully. I also worry about what you will think if your boyfriend does decide to become active, or even wants to. You say you respect all religions and beliefs and I have no reason to doubt you. But it's not good for the relationship if your boyfriend feels he can't explore beliefs that are different from yours. I don't think this has much to do with religion, at least not as far as you two make it. You two need to ask yourselves these questions: 1. How serious is he about going back to the LDS faith? 2. Will that change how he sees you? 3. Will that change how you see him?

Someone was telling me just the other day about a cultural hall reception they attended in which snowflake decorations had been hung from the ceiling, literally hundreds of them.

Yeah, I think the article would have been more effective had there not been that specific attack toward the Honor Code itself. But past that, I can empathasize with this article. I attended BYU-Idaho. I'm a conservative person who likes to go to bed at 10:00. I was fine with the Honor Code. However, once when giving a presentation that involved classmember feedback, I had a quarter of the people say my pants that were beneath ankle length, were too short. I also had a girl in the locker room tell me I should talk to the bishop about my underwear that was apparently inappropriate (no weird cuts, just a snakeskin print). Yes, it seems to be this is not so much about the Honor Code but how it was enforced. Those two incidents were unjust. If the cafeteria felt there was a problem with slacking dress code, there are better ways to enforce it than a few random crackdowns. By the sound of it, I think this couple was truly overstepping their bounds. A few stray hairs? Get real. I completely agree: Don't like the rules? Don't go! But I think the cases mentioned in the article were still following the rules. Trust me, there are more serious Honor Code violations than shorts and shaving. Definitly a letter vs spirit of the law.

Exactly. I think everyone likes to make superheroes out of the prophets, that they are infallible. Lots of people will say "Yeah, we know he's human :unsure:". I think lots of people have this fantasy of a prophet who has breakfast everyday with God, of a man who is in a constant state of glory, continually receiving revelation. When it's just not the case.

I guess the question everyone is asking is what were the sources. Lots of "historians" like to publish books for the media's sake when the fact is there are very few historical documents of any kind that you can 100% trust. Even journals and letters aren't necessary proof as anyone can say anything.

I'll get back to you on that. I haven't the foggiest idea what my cultural is going to look like.

I've never had a problem with atheism or atheists, though I think society tends to try to stick them into a little box just as much as they do with any other spiritual persuasion. I've seen atheists who try to define exactly what atheism is other than "no belief in deity" and it's annoying.

I think if you really look at it, you'd be amazed at the religions that incorporate some sort of sacred clothing.

At the very least, the bishop will have some very helpful advice for you. I imagine you wouldn't be able to pass/partake of sacrament, but I don't think you would be kicked out of youth activities and home teaching!

Don't worry! We still love you! I actually have very little against Twilight. I've read all the books, but never thought they were anything more than "okay". However, my critiques don't go much beyond personal taste. I think the romance is annoying, but I think that's just me and I actually like her writing style.

At the risk of downplaying this sin (which I don't mean to), I don't think you should worry about extreme consequences, especially if it's a past problem that you are working had to control. Really, what I can see here (having been in and knowing people in similar situations) is being instructed to refrain from passing/taking the sacrament for a few weeks while the bishop checks up on you.

Elementary math is the best! I didn't like math until I took six credits of math theory for my major. With all the theory and teaching methods, I sort of fell in love with it. I really like the Singapore approach--really bites that my contract wasn't renewed when we were just bringing that into the district.

As far as I'm aware there shouldn't be much to end the sealing with your ex. It's frowned upon, but usually only up until a woman has an opportunity to be sealed to another worthy man. Since your ex is no longer a member of the church, your current husband should definitely be preferrable. A friend's wife had a sealing cancellation with her first husband. She didn't start it until she was seriously dating my friend. She says it took about three months from starting the process until she received it.

That's pretty much it. The next few months and possibly more will not be pleasant. Accept that now. You are going to be suffering. Make room for lots of self-nurturing; find a balance between that and getting out of the house. Whether or not he eventually returns to you remains to be seen, but you can't sit around expecting and waiting for it with your heart unavailable.

I don't see any reason not to believe what was said. There are nut cases within the church.

You can. My cat is infamous for being weird.

I'd like to come!

I work with one. A woman.

I remember really disliking going to YWs. I got along better with some of the leaders than the girls my own age. I was shy and bookish and into RPGs that were considered "Satanic" while the other girls were all cheerleaders. I kid you not. I spent much of girls' camp in the summer hanging out with friends from other wards. My family wasn't particularly rich, but our ward encompassed a rich neighborhood. I preferred the more humble girls. Looking back... I have to say that probably most of my bad attitude with the rest of the girls was ME. I wasn't being friendly enough, I was judging them.

I know some great ones farther north, but I'm not familiar with that area.